Oral sex 'is best'

2005-04-05 13:50

Washington - US teenagers apparently prefer oral sex as a safer and morally more acceptable alternative to intercourse, a possible explanation for their rare use of condoms, according to a small poll by the University of California.

Around 20% of the ethnically diverse 580 teenagers - 42% boys, 58% girls with a mean age of 14 - who answered a questionnaire in the study published on Monday, admitted having had oral sex, compared to 14% who had had intercourse.

In addition, one third of the survey group said they intended to experiment with oral sex in the following six months, said the medical researchers headed by University of California paediatrics professor Bonnie Halpern-Felsher.

The teenagers in the survey said they preferred oral sex because they believed it carried "significantly less risk" than intercourse in terms of its health, social and emotional consequences, according to the study.

This perception would explain why condom use among teenagers is so rare, the researchers said.

Although the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including Aids, is considerably lower with oral sex as opposed to regular sexual relations, young people too often underestimate it, said the study published in the latest issue of Paediatrics.

- AFP